Things growing in Vienna

30 Jun

In addition to the wonderful things planted and maintained by the MA 42 (Magistratsabteilung 42 – The municipal parks and gardens services), which does such a good job they deserve a post devoted entirely to their work, there are a number of other things growing in Vienna. This spring I became aware of some communal gardens near the university campus, where dedicated amateur gardeners are growing vegetables and some flowers. It’s a wonderful idea and terrific use of land that was otherwise just being wasted. Here is a photo to show what great results they have already gotten, where the growing season has really just started.

Communal gardens

Not far from there on a traffic circle, beautifully planted in yellow and purple by the park and gardens services, is a sunflower that was planted by an anonymous beautifier:

Sunflower in a traffic circleHow do I know that it didn’t plant itself? Because it has a sign:

The sign says: Please water me. THANK YOU! Your Alsergrund “Grätzl*”-Sunflower.

* The word “Grätzl” also deserves its own post, it has so many associations. Short version: It is Viennese dialect and refers to one’s neighborhood.

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My first year in Vienna

10 Jun

Recently I came across my collection of opera tickets from my first year in Vienna. I couldn’t resist creating an annotated inventory of my experiences.  The results of my labors:  Operas I went to my first year in Vienna

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Sunday morning in Vienna

27 May

I must confess that Sunday morning is my favorite time in Vienna, especially when the weather is the way it is today–bright, cool, and clear. The streets and parks are empty (except for the dogs and their people) and usually clear of trash thanks to the untiring efforts of the city workers , the air is fresh (no traffic), and it is blissfully quiet except, this morning, for ecstatic birdsong. There is an exquisite sense of having enough time, peace, well-being, and surrounding beauty to work out life’s knottier problems–with fresh rolls to take home for breakfast as your reward.

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The Linden Trees (or “lime trees” if you’re British)

24 May

Hard for me to imagine that almost a year has gone by since I started this blog. What reminded me was that the linden trees are in blossom again, smelling as sweet as ever, especially in our suddenly muggy weather. No wonder poems were written and songs composed about them!

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Elderflowers

15 May

Just a quick post to announce that the elderflowers (Holunderblüten) are in bloom in Vienna.Image

This may not sound very exciting to you, but it they are beautiful, smell sweet, and are used to make a syrup for a really tasty soft drink special to Austria. 🙂

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Dogs in Vienna (4)

22 Apr

We are in the middle of a “police action” against dogs and dog owners. That is, for two weeks the police in Vienna will be on the lookout for infractions of various dog-related laws, like the leash law and (one hopes) the pooper scooper law. This made headlines in the local newspapers. As one friend of mine said, “I find it very fair that they give us notice.”

I think this a really good (and, basically, very Viennese) way of approaching the topic. Let’s face it–the police have enough to do without prosecuting every person with a gentle, well-behaved dog for not having the animal on a leash. By putting a time limit on the “action” and in that time period being very strict, the police remind dogowners what their actual responsibilities are. Everybody is made to think twice. And then the police can, in good conscience, go back to chasing bank robbers, purse snatchers and dogowners who are endangering others with out-of-control pets.

It gets the message across without making the lives of the police officers, many of whom seem sympathetic to dogs and owners wanting some freedom from the leash,  harder.

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Dog (3) – Scooping the poop

26 Feb

Vienna, like many big cities, has pooper scooper laws and–much as anyone who has moved or visited here recently is likely to doubt it–they have made a big difference. There is still a lot of poop on the ground, but there used to be more.

As with many things the Vienna municipal government has tried to motivate citizens to comply with the laws (a) by using humor and (b) by making it as easy as possible. In numbers: over 1,000 stands with plastic bags for the poop, which can be deposited in any of the 20,000 regular public trash bins, and 30,000 (humorous) signs to remind dog owners to scoop. (http://www.wien.gv.at/rk/msg/2007/0920/016.html)

The sign itself I find a masterpiece. (In fact is has even attracted attention in Berlin: http://www.fensterzumhof.eu/4869/berlin-wien-hundehaufen-aktion/) The perky dog has a sign in his mouth that says: Sind dir EUR 36 wurst? A very clever play on words, reminding the dog owners of the possible financial consequences of failing to scoop. “Wurst” means sausage in high German, as in the kind you eat (think “Bratwurst”). In Viennese dialogue it has two meanings. If you say, “Das ist mir wurst” it means “I don’t care” (word-for-word translation: it’s sausage to me). At the same time, I’m sorry to say, “Wurst” is also used to describe precisely what dog owners should be scooping. So the little dog is asking, “Do you really not care about EUR 36?” and referring to the poop in the same sentence.

The overriding slogan for the campaign also relies on Viennese dialect, as if to say, we are all in this together: Nimm’ ein Sackerl für mein Gackerl. This means “take a bag for my poop” but, sadly doesn’t rhyme–and isn’t very memorable or motivating–in English. The “erl” at the end of both “Sackerl” and “Gackerl” in Viennese dialect serves the function of the diminutive “chen” in high German, so we’re talking about a little bag (“Sackerl”) for a little pile of poop (“Gackerl”–a very Viennese expression).

This phrase has even inspired a song, such as it is, which can be viewed on YouTube ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdDPaAR66aQ). The verses are about the dispensers being empty and the trash bins being full so that Frau Huber has to bring her own bag and then has nowhere to dispose of it. This has not been my experience so far. Perhaps the song is a few years old?

One thing is probably no accident–that it is *Frau* Huber. My, granted not all together scientific, observations have suggested to me that it is middle-aged women who are most assiduous in cleaning up after their dogs. And I, at 50, have joined their ranks!

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Dog (2) – Even strong men

23 Feb

What strikes me when I am out walking with Mylo is that even tall, strong men in power suits smile at him. Is it my dog? He is certainly worth smiling at. Or is it Vienna? I’m not sure.

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Faschingsdienstag (“Mardi Gras” in Viennese)

21 Feb

There are aspects of life in Vienna that suddenly make you wonder if you, in fact, have landed in an Austrian village. Today it was the church bells ringing–briefly disorientating, as it isn’t Sunday. Then I realized that today is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, known as “Faschingsdienstag” in Viennese dialect. (“Fasching” is Viennese for “Carnival” and “Dienstag” is “Tuesday”.) Pancakes, anyone?

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Having a dog in Vienna (1)

18 Feb

Well, I have finally done it. After several years of talking about it I have finally adopted a dog, Mylo, who was rescued from a killing station (Tötungsstation) in Hungary and has been with me for two weeks today. (This means he–and I–have already survived 10 of the coldest days in Vienna this winter.)

It’s a valid question whether it is fair to have a dog in a big city, especially when you live, as I do, in an apartment without a garden. And yet, to condemn everyone who lives in a city to a dogless condition also doesn’t seem fair. It may not be in the UN Declaration of Human Rights that people have the right to a dog, but a good dog can add tremendously to one’s quality of life–provided, of course, one likes dogs and walking (in all weathers)! And Vienna is not at all a bad city for a dog to live in.

Most newcomers notice very quickly that the Viennese very often are more open to dogs than to children. This means that even a badly behaved dog might get a smile on the street where a badly behaved child never will. It also means that it is still possible to take dogs into some shops and many restaurants. For example, Mylo and I had coffee together last week in the Roth Bar and did some errands together this morning–we went to the newsagent’s for the Saturday paper and my weekly instant lottery ticket and then on to the pet store for a few things.

There are dog parks (not unique to Vienna, I know, but I have two within 10 minutes’ walking distance). Dogs are also allowed on public transportation, although Mylo and I haven’t tried this out yet. He’s still adjusting to life in the big city. But I fully expect to be back in the Vienna Woods, from now on with my dog, taking the tram out of the city, in the next week or so.

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